


Right Back Where We Started From

by boybandgirl1



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, M/M, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 05:47:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28755360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boybandgirl1/pseuds/boybandgirl1
Summary: A series of tragic events lead Louis to Cheshire where he meets the Styles family. Little does he know, without them he will never get back the life he once had."The O.C." AU, sort of
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Jay Tomlinson/Mark Tomlinson
Kudos: 4





	Right Back Where We Started From

**Author's Note:**

> I got the idea for this in 2016 and stopped writing because of major writer's block. Lost the file and found it in 2020 and picked it back up. Started off based on the tv show "The O.C." but kind of got a mind of its own.
> 
> Title take from The O.C's theme song, California by Phantom Planet.

Louis had a fairly happy childhood. Sure, he had a terrible biological father but his wonderful, loving mother made up for it. He also had a really great step-dad, Mark. His mum met Mark when he was three years old and they married a year later. At the age of six Louis had the honor of becoming a big brother and he immediately took to the role. He loved caring for his little sister, Charlotte or Lottie, he helped feed her bottles and -watched over her. Two years later their family welcomed another little sister, Félicité or Fizzy, and Louis always offered to cuddle up with Lottie on the sofa to watch Disney movies while his mum took care of their newest sibling. Before he knew it Mark had been a part of their family for ten years and Louis had four little sisters idolizing him. Louis was truly happy and loved his life, he had the best family anyone could ask for. Mark had brought happiness to his mother and Louis saw him as his real father rather than a stepdad. On Louis’ thirteenth birthday he asked his parents if he could legally change his last name to Tomlinson, to match the rest of his family members. They, of course, were both ecstatic and agreed wholeheartedly and before Louis knew it, he was officially Louis William Tomlinson. Everything in his life was perfect, until one year later.

Shortly after Louis’ fourteenth birthday, he noticed his mum was feeling sick more often and for a longer period of time. She seemed to be complaining of terrible headaches and back pains but refused to go to the doctor. She was always putting her own needs on the back-burner for her children and giving excuses that she was too busy, had too much to do around the house or taking the girls to and from after-school activities. Louis and Mark knew something wasn’t right and that Jay needed to go to the doctor. They forced her to make an appointment and found a time when Mark would be home to take care of all five kids. It seemed making that appointment was the worst thing to happen. Jay was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, the doctors told her she had less than four months to live. It was hard for the young family to deal with such horrible news. Lottie had just turned eight and Fizzy was approaching her sixth birthday and the two-year-old twins were too young to understand what was happening. Louis knew he and his father had to step up and take care of their family while they all struggled with their mother’s diagnosis.

They did their best, keeping their spirits up for the girls and for Jay as she went through intense chemo and radiation. The family of seven spent Jay’s remaining time glued together, spending as much time with each other as they possibly could. Jay lived for eight months after her diagnosis and Louis was convinced it was because she was trying so hard to fight the cancer for the sake of her children. Once Louis’ mum passed away, it was hard on everyone, however, Louis’ stepdad took it the hardest. He started drinking from the time he woke up until he passed out from all the alcohol. He would often stay out all night, leaving Louis to take care of his sisters. He was never around and when he was he was a horribly mean drunk. It was up to Louis to protect the four young girls he loved so much, all while they dealt with the loss of their mother.

The girls were so young and it was hard for them to understand what was happening. Louis himself couldn’t make sense of his life right now so it was no surprise his younger sisters were struggling. Lottie and Fizzy were struggling with their school work and having a hard time getting along with their classmates. Lottie mostly got angry and was always locked in her room; Fizzy was always so emotional, it felt like she was constantly crying. On the other hand, Louis dealt with his emotions by putting them on the back-burner and focusing all his time on caring for his sisters. He didn’t have time to mourn for his mother, his focus needed to be on his sisters and their crumbling family. It was a lot of pressure for the fourteen year old to be responsible for four girls under eight years old. Without the support of his father, Louis knew he needed to step up and be a role model and parental figure for the girls. He knew his mother would have wanted her children to be taken care of and Louis was now that person for them. 

As Louis lay in bed late one night with all four girls cuddled into his bed - Daisy on one side, Phoebe on the other, Fizzy and Lottie curled up together at the foot of the bed- he made a promise to himself and to the four girls surrounding him:  _ He would always take care of them. _

**< <>>**

It had been nearly four months since his mother passed away and Christmastime was quickly approaching, along with Louis’ less important fifteenth birthday. At this point Louis and his sisters had somewhat developed a routine. Every morning Louis would get up before the sun so he could get himself ready for the day before he had to wake the girls. First, he would wake his oldest sisters, Lottie and Fizzy so they could get ready for school and wake up their two year old twin sisters- Phoebe and Daisy. Louis was in the kitchen packing the girls’ lunches and making a quick breakfast for all four of his sisters. Once Lottie and Fizzy woke up the twins and helped them get dressed, the girls headed down to the kitchen where Louis would be finishing up making breakfast- which was usually him pouring five bowls of cereal. All five kids sat at the kitchen table and enjoyed their breakfast together. Louis knew he needed to keep some traditions the same for the girls’ sake so he always made sure they ate together as a family. Most days were crazy with food spilling all over and at least one bowl of cereal landing on the floor. By this time, the siblings were used to it and worked together to keep things going smooth in their house. Once everyone has been fed, Fizzy and Lottie catch the bus at the end of their block. Louis and the twins walk with them every morning before walking another three blocks to drop the twins off at their daycare. After all four girls are in school, Louis would try to head to his school to keep up with his school work, but lately that was becoming difficult. Louis had some money saved up and his mum had left him some before she passed away. He didn’t have much left as he spent most of it on food and clothes for the girls. He was skipping school most days to find odd jobs around town to earn money for his family.

On this particular day, he didn’t go to school, he found a side job fixing an elderly couple’s back fence and earned 200 pounds for his hard day’s work. When he finished working he noticed it was still early in the afternoon, he decided to take his hard earned money and spend it on Christmas gifts for his sister's using any remaining money to pick up groceries for that night’s tea. Louis knew this Christmas would certainly be a difficult one for his family and he wanted to do everything in his power to cheer up his girls.

He had just finished unloading his shopping bags when it was time to pick up the twins from daycare before the school bus dropped Lottie and Fizzy off at the bus stop. He had finally gotten used to his new routine, getting the girls into somewhat of a ‘normal’ schedule. There was still a lot of craziness around the Tomlinson house, but they were all adjusting. Every day he would pick up two-year-old twins Phoebe and Daisy from the daycare they had been going to since they were only 6 months old. Thankfully, it was located just down the street from their house, Louis was able to walk there to pick them up around 3 o’clock and get them back home in time to meet Lottie and Fizzy at the bus stop.

As Louis made his way down the street, he found himself smiling a genuine smile for the first time in months. He was looking forward to seeing the girls and hearing about their busy day at school. Knowing that he had an overall good day and was able to spend his hard-earned money on Christmas gifts for the girls, he thought about the doll that Fizzy had wanted and a stuffed bunny for Phoebe hidden in the back of his wardrobe. With Christmas only two weeks away, Louis had planned on missing the next week of school to spend his days working odd-jobs to save up enough money for gifts for the girls. Louis felt the pressure weighing on him to give the girls a nice Christmas. He knew he couldn’t rely on his stepdad for help this Christmas, considering the last time he saw Mark was over a month ago and he was completely wasted.

Louis first arrived at the twins’ daycare just before three o’clock and waited with all of the other parents by the entrance. He looked around for the twins but didn’t see them anywhere. They usually were on the lookout for him and always came running as soon as one of them spotted him. However, it was rather cold out and they hated being bundled up in winter coats, boots, and thick hats and gloves. He thought maybe they were still getting ready to leave. When he asked the daycare worker if she had seen them she gave him a frightened, solemn look. Before he could get an explanation he ran to Lottie and Fizzy’s school as fast as he could. Based on the look he got from the twins caretaker, he knew it was not good news.

His mind immediately went to the worst case scenario-  _ Where are they? Who could have taken them?  _ He thought.  _ Was it Mark? Would Mark have been the only person that could have taken them? Are they okay? If Mark took the girls out of school to try to take them away from Louis, he would kill him. Mark is probably drunk and the girls may be scared of him. The last time he came around, he broke almost every piece of crystal he could find in their house and punched Louis in the jaw when he tried to stop him. He hoped Mark wouldn’t hurt his sisters. Did Mark take all four of the girls from school?  _ So many things were going through his mind and before he knew it, he had ran three miles and was standing outside Lottie and Fizzy’s school.

When he arrived at the school he went straight to the principal’s office where she informed Louis that it was not the girl’s father who picked them up, but rather the Department of Children and Family Services. He learnt that they were put into foster care due to the fact their father was unable to care for them. In that moment Louis’ heart stopped. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t move. The principal was still talking but he couldn’t hear what she was saying. Louis knew he had to fight to get his girls back and he would do whatever it took. He needed them as much as they needed him and they were too young to be sent away from the only family member they had left. He was getting angry and panicked, he needed to know who took the girls and where they were now. That way he could pick them up and take them home with him- where they were  _ safe _ .

At that moment he snapped out of his thoughts and realized the principal was speaking to him. She was telling him that since he is not a legal adult the girls cannot remain in his custody. She assured him that they would be taken care of and hopefully be taken in by another family soon. Louis tried to find out where they were taken, where he could find them how he could see them again. The principal told Louis that she could not give Louis any more information on the girls as he was not their legal guardian and it was confidential. Louis’ mind went blank again- he  _ was  _ their legal guardian. How did child services find out about Mark and their current situation? How could Louis get the girls back? The principal was speaking again, she was telling Louis to have a seat while she got in contact with DCFS. Louis’ mind was clouded; he could barely focus on what she was saying, as she was dialing, it clicked. He was technically a minor, she wasn’t calling DCFS to help him find his sisters, and she was calling them so they would take him away, too. He was not going to let that happen. If they took Louis away from his home he would never find his little sisters. He snuck a peek at the principal, noticing she was busy talking on the phone. While he had the chance he quickly and quietly left the main office and made it to the exit without anyone noticing. 

Louis left the school in silence; he didn’t know what to do next. He knew he had to find his sisters but wasn’t sure where to start. It would be difficult to find them knowing that he would be at risk of being taken away as well. He stopped at the nearby library and researched foster care in hopes to find his sisters. He learnt that the girls would be put into a group home- similar to an orphanage- until someone adopted them or became their foster parents. It was also highly likely that siblings would be split up into several homes and taken in by many families. He read about some horror stories of kids in foster care; how they grow up in group homes or they are moved from foster parent to foster parent some being abused or neglected. He read horrible cases from all around the country of children who were sent to foster care. It was at that moment that Louis broke. He began to loudly sob as he rested his head on the computer desk at the library. The librarian came over and asked him to be quieter after a horrible attempt to comfort him. He copied down the names and addresses of local group homes where his sisters may have been taken and ran out of the library with tears still running down his face as he headed to the first address on his list.

Louis was approaching his fourth and final group home with his head hanging and red-rimmed eyes. He had no luck at the previous homes who all refused to give him any information- one just saying to give up because they could be sent to any group home in the country. Now at his fourth and final stop, there was a young man sitting at the front desk with a cheerful smile on his face. Louis explained to the man that he was caring for his sisters and someone from DCFS pulled them out of school and sent them to the foster care program. The man was helpful; reassuring Louis that they would help him find his sisters and offered him food and water while he was waiting.

The man began asking Louis for basic information about his sister and himself, but once it came up that Louis was only fourteen, the man refused to continue as it came to his attention that if Louis had attended school today he also would have been placed in the foster care system. Before it could get any farther Louis ran for the exit and tried to find somewhere to sleep. He knew that he could not go back to school or his home because DCFS workers would be waiting there to take him into foster care. He found himself walking through a park. It was now dark outside. Louis didn’t know how long he had been walking around aimlessly and he realized how exhausted he was. He found a bench where he laid down and promptly fell asleep dreaming of being reconnected with his sisters.

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 2 coming soon!!


End file.
